Lecture: Pathology 5: Neoplasia

Question 1

What is meant by the term ‘malignant’?

Answer 1

Tending to produce death.

Question 2

What is meant by the term ‘benign’?

Answer 2

Not malignant and unlikely to cause harm.

Question 3

What are carcinomas?

Answer 3

(Invasive) Malignant neoplasm of epithelial tissue.

Question 4

What are the 2 types of carcinoma?

Answer 4

Squamous carcinoma and glandular adenocarcinoma

Question 5

What are sarcomas?

Answer 5

Malignant neoplasm of connective tissue or muscle

Question 6

What are lymphomas?

Answer 6

Malignant neoplasm of lymphocytes

Question 7

What is leukemia?

Answer 7

Malignant neoplasm of leukocytes (or other blood cells)

Question 8

What is melanoma?

Answer 8

Malignant neoplasm of melanocytes

Question 9

What is neoplasia?

Answer 9

Autonomous ‘new growth’ of abnormal cells. Growth is clonal, abnormal, and excessive and is usually non-responsive to normal growth controls owing to genetic abnormality.

Question 10

What is meant by the term ‘clonal’?

Answer 10

When one (or more) cells becomes abnormal and all further cell generations are clones of this original one.

Question 11

What are the hallmarks of cancer?

Answer 11

Avoids immune destruction
Evades growth suppressors
Replicative immortality
Tumour promoting inflammation
Activates invasion and metastasis
Genomic instability
Resists cell death
Induces angiogenesis
Deregulates cellular energetics
Sustains proliferation signals

Question 12

What are oncogenes?

Answer 12

Mutated gene that promotes neoplasia and uncontrollably and unchecked growth

Question 13

What are tumour suppressor genes?

Answer 13

Tumor suppressor genes arenormal genes that slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, or tell cells when to undergo apoptosis.

Question 14

How can we classify neoplasia?

Answer 14

Behaviour- benign, borderline, malignant
Histogenesis- cell of origin
Differentiation and transdifferentiation
Molecular classification

Question 15

What are benign neoplasms?

Answer 15

Neoplasms that remain localized. Benign neoplasms look similar to the ‘parent’ tissue they have arisen from but push against borders.

Question 16

Example of a benign neoplasm?

Answer 16

Uterine leiomyoma

Question 17

What are borderline neoplasms?

Answer 17

Neoplasms with limited invasion and local destructive growth, but are very unlikely to metastasize.

Question 18

Example of a borderline neoplasm?

Answer 18

Basal cell carcinoma of the skin

Question 19

What are malignant neoplasms?

Answer 19

Neoplasm that invades surrounding tissue and grows relatively rapidly. Variable differentiation and undergo metastasis which is the ultimate proof that a tumour is malignant.

Question 20

Example of a malignant neoplasm?

Answer 20

Renal clear cell adenocarcinoma

Question 21

What is haematogenous metastasis?

Answer 21

Spread by way of veins or (rarely) arteries.

Question 22

What is lymphatic metastasis?

Answer 22

Spread by way of lymphatic channels and lymph nodes.

Question 23

How do malignant neoplasms cause harm?

Answer 23

Metastasis
Destruction of tissues
Obstruction of hollow viscera
Production of hormones

Question 24

What are the common types of cancer?

Answer 24

Breast, prostate, lung and colon

Question 25

What are teratomas?

Answer 25

Neoplasms comprising of many different tissues.

Question 26

What are carcinosarcoma?

Answer 26

Malignant neoplasm of both epithelium and connective tissue or muscle.

Question 27

How does differentiation of a neoplasm relate to prognosis?

Answer 27

Poorly differentiated neoplasm tend to be more aggressive and abnormal.

Question 28

How does damage to basement membrane allow for metastasis of neoplasms?

Answer 28

Damage to basement membrane gives neoplasms access to blood vessels and lymphatic channels to enable them to metastasize.

Question 29

What do we call malignant neoplasms that have not metastasized?

Answer 29

Carcinoma in-situ / intraepithelial neoplasm

Question 30

What do we call malignant neoplasms that have metastasized?

Answer 30

Invasive carcinoma